Back in November 2010, a group of animal lovers banded together to start New Beginnings Animal Rescue in an effort to help orphaned pets that were losing their homes because their owners could no longer afford to feed and house them.

It was a daunting task.

“We had no money, no animals, no volunteers … nothing,” said Lisa Hill of New Beginnings.

The group’s modest start began with a pet food pantry program based out of Birds Unlimited in Royal Oak, and progressed to a foster program that gave pets a place to live until they could be adopted.

“We tried to think about the quickest way that we could start assisting the community, because a lot of the feedback we were getting was that people couldn’t afford to keep their pets because they couldn’t feed them anymore,” Hill said. “That’s how our pet pantry started.”

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But, with only a half dozen adoption events each month, the group’s effectiveness was limited. The New Beginnings volunteers yearned for a building of their own, an adoption center where pets could live in a comfortable setting while awaiting a chance to find a permanent home.

The group’s dream has now come to fruition, with the opening of the New Beginnings Animal Rescue Adoption Center at 2502 Rochester Road in Royal Oak. New Beginnings celebrates the new facility with a Grand Opening and Adoption Event Saturday. The grand opening runs from 2-5 p.m., followed by NBAR’s first in-house adoption event from 5-7 p.m.

“It’s been a long road, but we’re very excited,” Hill said. “Now, we’re ready to finally open and find families for these little guys.”

NBAR obtained the building in October, but it has taken months to obtain a special land use permit (since it is not in an industrial area), pass inspections and renovate the facility to their desires.

“We wanted it to be perfect and the best environment for the animals that are staying here, because this is their home, temporarily,” Hill said. “I did a lot of research on air systems and really planning out what would be the easiest for us to maintain.”

The facility — which houses cats only — has been designed with the felines in mind, providing a healthy and stimulating environment.

There are two free-roam cat rooms, with wall shelves and toys to share; an individual housing area for cats who don’t get along with other pets or animals with special needs; and a quarantine room where new pets are housed for 7-10 days to monitor their temperament and any potential medical issues, get them up to date on their shots, and get them fixed or neutered if needed. It also gives the cats an opportunity to adjust to their temporary home.

“It’s a nice quiet environment where they can decompress and their real personalities come out,” Hill said.

The facility currently houses 11 cats.

“We want to keep our numbers low, so that everybody can get the special attention they need,” Hill said. “That way, we can monitor their health and their progress.”

The facility is bright and cheery — each room is decorated with a seasonal theme — and doesn’t smell like a typical shelter, thanks to a strict cleaning protocol and an air conditioning/heating system that filters the air in each room independently.

“To keep animals healthy you need good air flow,” Hill said. “The air quality is almost hospital grade, like surgery room grade. It’s fresher in there than it is outside.

“We’re tiny but it’s a nice space and it’s small enough for us to maintain well. We didn’t want to get a facility that was so large that we couldn’t maintain it or afford it.”

The facility, including the pet food pantry that provides food to 500 pets in low-income families each month, is funded entirely through donations and adoption fees, which are $85 for adult cats, $50 for senior pets ages 8-up, and $100 for kittens. All animals available for adoption through New Beginnings have been spayed or neutered and have all their shots.

“One hundred percent of the adoption fee goes into the medical care and treatment of the next animal that we are able to take in, so when you adopt from us, you’re not only saving one life, you’re saving two, because we’re able to bring somebody else in and care for them,” Hill said.

There are currently 10 volunteers running the rescue operation.

“We’re definitely looking for volunteers,” Hill said. “There are all kinds of opportunities to volunteer, between cleaning, socializing and cuddling (with the cats).”

The group also accepts volunteers who are ages 16 and under, with a guardian.

Hill and the other NBAR volunteers anxiously await the grand opening and the chance to meet new friends and neighbors.

“It feels amazing, almost surreal,” she said. “It’s been a very long road … but I love what I do and I can’t imagine doing anything else.”